Brancaia




		Alessandro Di Tardo and Fabrizio Benedetti in Chianti Classico, as David Pucci and Fabrizio Testa in Maremma, constitute the most important links for Barbara Kronenberg-Widmer and Carlo Ferrini. Alessandro and David are responsible for the daily work in the vineyards, and each Fabrizio for one of the cellars. Alessandro Di Tardo was born on the isle of Elba in 1968 where he also grew up. He studied agronomy at the university in Pisa, complementing his studies with practical work at several estates in the Chianti Classico area. Tutored by Carlo Ferrini, he wrote his thesis within the “Chianti Classico 2000” project in 1991, titled “Effects of varied basic vines on the bio-agronomic behaviour of Sangiovese in the Chianti Classico area”. He also participated in studies of topics such as distance between plants, systems of growing vine, soil techniques, selection of clones. After receiving his diploma he was hired in 1996 by Brancaia as technical manager. Since 1998 he has been collaborating with the estate Brancaia in Maremma, near Grosseto. Today, Alessandro is responsible for wine-growing at Brancaia, while in Maremma he has a consulting and supporting function as an agronomist. Fabrizio Benedetti was born in Pisa in 1978. He studied oenology at the University of Pisa and wrote his thesis about “The contribution of foreign grape varieties to improve the Tuscan red wines”. During his studies, Fabrizio completed a few practical courses in the cellar as well as in the vineyard. During the harvest 2001 he worked at the estate of Villa Calcinaia, tutored by the winemaker Federico Staderini. From the harvest 2002 Fabrizio went through all working processes of wine production at Brancaia. Since January 2004 Fabrizio has been responsible for the wine cellar. David Pucci was born in 1975 in Orbetello near Grosseto. In 1994 David took his degree in Agronomy at a Technical High School. In 1998 David joined the Brancaia team. He greatly contributed to vinify the first harvest in the winery’s own cellar. After one year at Brancaia in Chianti, David moved to Maremma in order to control the works under progress at Brancaia in Maremma. Today David is responsible for the wine cultivation in Maremma, supported by Alessandro. Fabrizio Testa was born in 1981 in Treviglio near Bergamo. At the university in Milan he studied wine cultivation and wine-making. During his studies Fabrizio has some working experiences in Südtirol and Tuscany. The subject of his thesis was “Oenological characteristics and behaviour of some international grapes“, for which Fabrizio could make practical tests in the wine cellars of Castello di Brolio. After his diploma, Fabrizio worked in California for a few months. In 2005 he worked in the vineyards of the San Fabiano di Calcinaia winery. Since 2006 Fabrizio Testa has been responsible for the work in the wine cellar at Brancaia in Maremma.